P&D Best Of: A Look Back at Child Protection

By Proclaim and Defend | December 28, 2017

A Christmas day shock hit my town with this story of a terrible murder of two lovely little girls, apparently committed by their father. An op-ed points out several similar tragedies in other communities recently. The story appears to be the all too familiar bitter custody battle between mother and father. It is hard to take. It is possible that warning signs existed prior to the event, but it is hard to see how protective measures can accurately predict or prevent similar atrocities in the future. That does not mean, of course, that we shouldn’t try to prevent them.

When we began Proclaim & Defend, we opened with a series of articles addressing the subject of child protection. For Christian workers, child protection and similar security issues demand regular attention. It is our duty as leaders to take thought about measures that would prevent the abuse and exploitation of anyone in our ministries, whether it be the children, women, or anyone else who might be the target of predatory sinners.

It may be impossible to reduce the incidents to zero, but we ought to make it as difficult as possible for them to occur on our watch, in our ministries. The protection of our little ones ought to be a primary concern.

Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

For some sober discussion of these matters, see the articles that launched our blog back in March, 2012:

  • What We Are Learning (Parts: One, Two, Three)
  • Developing an Effective Child Protection Policy (Parts: One, Two)
  • Beauty for Ashes (Parts: One, Two)
  • Interview with Rachel Mitchell (Parts: One, Two)
  • How Could it Ever be for my Good? (Link)
  • “Dad we Need to Talk” (Link)

Also, see the Special Edition of FrontLine

These articles will not make you an expert. They can’t begin to address all the issues in child protection. But they start us thinking about the subject. They are worth looking at again. When stories about child abuse aren’t in the daily news, it is easy for the subject to slip out of our consciousness. We can’t let that happen. We need to review matters like this on a regular basis.

Your church should have a child protection policy. Links to additional resources follow – no doubt, they do not follow a Christian worldview, but there is wisdom available here, even if from the thoughtful pagan who thinks hard about these issues.

You may find other resources online. In our ministers, we all share these responsibilities. We can’t lag behind the world on these matters.

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